INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION:

James M. Carlson, Professor of Political Science
Office Hours: 9:30-10:20 MWF or by appointment
Office: Howley 310
Office Telephone and Voice Mail: 865 2624
Fax Number: 865 1222
E mail: jcarlson@providence.edu
Angel: http://angel.providence.edu/frameIndex.htm
Course Web Site: www.providence.edu/polisci/carlson/PubOp05

COURSE INFORMATION:

Catalog Description: This course involves an analysis of the sources and distribution of public opinion in the United States. Attention will be given to the relationships between social background, personality characteristics, and opinions on political issues. Additionally, linkages between public opinion and public policy will be considered.

Students for whom the course is intended: This course is open to all PC students. It satisfies the American Politics core requirement for political science majors.

COURSE PURPOSE, GOALS, AND OBJECTIVES

This course is concerned with the analysis of public opinion and political psychology. We will focus on the methods for analyzing opinions, both extensive (survey research) and intensive (experimentation), the distribution of opinion in the United States, and attitude change. Some of the substantive areas that will receive special attention include: Democracy and capitalism, political knowledge, ideology, alienation, opinions on welfare, international affairs, race and gender. Attention will be given to the formation of opinions through a process called “political socialization.” We will also relate specific opinions to individual social background and personality characteristics. Towards the end of the semester we will closely examine factors that contribute to political persuasion and the success of propaganda techniques.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Class Time and Assignments

We will be together for about forty class periods. Class will take the form of lectures, discussion of reading assignments, student reports on articles dealing with specific pieces of research or a controversial topic, and student presentations of their own research.

Examinations

There will be a midterm and a final examination. The final examination will cover material following the midterm. The examinations will involve essay questions that I present to you well in advance of the exam date. On the day of the exam we will randomly choose two or three questions for you to answer. The idea is for you to cooperate with your classmates in preparing
for the exam and to ultimately provide well prepared thoughtful answers.

Oral Reports on an Article

At least once (possibly twice) during the semester you will read a short article concerning public opinion. You will very briefly summarize the results or arguments presented by the author(s) for the class so that we can discuss them.

Participation in Discussions

A premium will be placed on active participation in discussions of issues raised during the semester. Your participation grade will be based on the quality of your oral reports to the class, discussion of issues during class sessions, and contributions to discussions on message boards created within the classroom management system, Angel.

Research Paper

Each member of the class will write a survey based research paper analyzing and explaining some aspect of public opinion. Our data will come from a poll that we as a class conduct. Early in the semester we will decide on a population of individuals that we want to sample (eg. Rhode Islanders of voting age), develop a set of questions and a questionnaire, and then collect the data and prepare it for analysis. Each class member will develop his or her own question(s) that will be placed on the questionnaire or interview form. We will want a sample of at least 320, so each member of the class will be responsible for conducting at least twenty interviews (these likely will involve telephone interviews conducted during the late afternoon and evening using the College’s alumni phone bank. The paper will be a report of an analysis of the data (Don’t worry!! You won’t have to remember everything from Empirical Political Analysis. I will help you.) We will work out the details of this assignment later.

Grading Distribution and Policies:

Attendance is strongly encouraged and absences will affect your participation grade. Oral reports on articles will be reflected in your participation grade. I expect all members of the class will participate in discussions of assigned readings.

RESOURCES:

Required Texts:

The following texts are available for purchase at the College Bookstore:

Barbara Bardes and Robert W. Oldendick, Public Opinion: Measuring the American Mind (2nd Edition)

Michael Delli Carpini and Scott Keeter, What Americans Know about Politics and Why It Matters

Martin Gilens, Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race Media and the Politics of Antipoverty Policy

Joseph S. Nye Jr., Philip D. Zelikow, and David C. King, Why People Don’t Trust Government

Anthony Pratkanis and Elliot Aronson, Age of Propaganda: The Everyday Use and Abuse of Persuasion

Additional Reading Assignments:

In addition to material in the texts there will be some reading assigned in the form of articles from professional journals, portions of chapters of books, and on-line research reports. The additional reading will be placed on reserve in the Library, given to you in the form of a handout or available on-line.

CONTENT OUTLINE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS

I. Public Opinion and Democracy

Reading: Barbara Bardes and Robert W. Oldendick, Public Opinion, Chapter 1
Bernard Berelson, Paul Lazersfeld, and Willaim McPhee, Chapter 14 “Democratic Practice and Democratic Theory” from Voting: A Study of Opinion Formation in a Presidential Campaign (Handout)
Michael Delli Carpini and Scott Keeter, What Americans Know about Politics and Why It Matters, Chapters 1 & 2

II. Methods of Analysis: Public Opinion Polling and Experimentation

Reading: Barbara Bardes and Robert W. Oldendick, Public Opinion, Chapters 2, 3, 4 &11
James M. Carlson and Mark S. Hyde, Doing Empirical Political Research, Chapters 9 &10 (Handout)

III. The Acquisition of Political Knowledge, Attitudes and Values: Agents of Socialization and Mitigating Factors
Reading Barbara Bardes and Robert W. Oldendick, Public Opinion, Chapter 5

A. The Process of Political Learning
B. The Influence of Families
C. Political Learning and Schools
D. Peers, Media and Political Learning

IV. The Structure of Belief Systems and Political Ideology

Reading: Barbara Bardes and Robert W. Oldendick, Public Opinion, pps. 101-112
Philip Converse, “The Nature of Mass Belief Systems” (Handout)
Herbert McClosky, “Conservatism and Personality” (Handout)
James M Carlson and Michelle Schreiber "Cognitive Sophistication and Ideological Thinking” (Handout)

V. The Distribution of Political Knowledge

Reading: Michael Delli Carpini and Scott Keeter, What Americans Know about Politics and Why It Matters, Chapters 3 through 7

VI. Political Attitudes on Important Topics

A. Democracy and Capitalism

B. Confidence in the Political System

Reading: Barbara Bardes and Robert W. Oldendick, Public Opinion, pps. 112-126
Joseph S. Nye, Philip D. Zelikow, and David C. King, Why People Don’t Trust the Government, Entire

C. Opinions on Racial Issues

Reading: Barbara Bardes and Robert W. Oldendick, Public Opinion, Chapter 8

D. Public Opinion on Social Welfare

Reading: Barbara Bardes and Robert W. Oldendick, Public Opinion Chapter 7
Martin Gilens, Why Americans Hate Welfare, Entire

E. Views on Gender Issues

F. Views on Foreign and Defense Policies

Barbara Bardes and Robert. W. Oldendick, Public Opinion, Chapter 10

G. Opinion on Other Highly Controversial Issues

Reading: Barbara Bardes and Robert. W. Oldendick, Public Opinion, Chapter 9

VII. Attitude Change and Propaganda

Reading: Anthony Pratkanis and Elliot Aronson, Age of Propaganda: The Everyday Use and Abuse of Persuasion, Entire